


The family we Make

by Somebodytell_them



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Brotherly Love, F/M, Family, Found Family, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 09:07:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29681616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Somebodytell_them/pseuds/Somebodytell_them
Summary: Judd has always been the baby of his family, and part of Grace worried he would never get along with the new 126, through moments of watching him with the crew, she realized she needn’t worry.
Relationships: Judd Ryder & Marjan, Judd Ryder & Mateo, Judd Ryder & Paul Strickland, Judd Ryder & TK Strand, Judd Ryder/Grace Ryder, judd Ryder & nancy
Comments: 8
Kudos: 152





	The family we Make

Grace Ryder has gotten used to a lot of strange things, being married to a firefighter. She’s gotten used to the weird hours, the long shifts and even learning to take enough for everyone when she brought Judd food at work. Hell, she was a dispatcher she knew the job and she was completely understanding.

The one thing she was learning to get used to was the new 126 team and how much they looked up to Judd. Judd isn’t close to his brothers, having been seven years younger and the baby, so when he became a firefighter, that became his family, she just didn’t realize how much. 

Mateo was the first one to show up at her door. It was just after nine and she’d just finished the dishes and joined Judd on the couch when the doorbell rang. 

“I’m not gettin’ up Judd. You go see who came to visit durin a flood.” He laughed, pecking her on the lips and heading towards the door, grunting as he got up. 

She didn’t know who she was expecting but it definitely wasn’t Mateo Chavez, soaking wet and shivering. 

“Jesus Christ Probie get in here ‘fore you get sick. Grace will you get him a towel?” She just went to the closet, grabbing a towel then going to the guest room and getting a pair of sweats and a tshirt she kept for when her brother stayed here. 

She handed the pile to the young man, pointing to the bathroom in the hallway. “Here honey, the bathroom is right over there. Why don’t you get changed into something dry.” 

As soon as Mateo was out of sight Judd was headed to the kitchen. Grace didn’t say a word, just watched as her husband, the one who rarely cooked for himself, pull out things for sandwiches. 

“Hey babe will you see if we still have any of those Mexican drinks I bought the other day? Probie will only drink the red ones.” Judd didn’t even look up, just kept his eyes on the quite disgusting concoction he was making. 

It was a toasted turkey sandwich with grape jelly, lettuce and tomatoes. It looked nasty but she was raised right enough to know not to comment on other people’s food. She raised her eyebrows at Judd, glancing back down at the mess. 

“He was the youngest of five. When his parents were at work this is what his big brother made him.” She just nodded, handing him the red drink, wondering if he was expecting a visit when he bought them. 

“Um I left the wet clothes in the bath tub so they wouldn’t make the floor all wet.” She turned to Mateo, trying not to grin at him being practically swallowed whole in those clothes. Her brother was skinnier than Judd, but a whole lot taller. 

“Sit kid. I made you that weird ass sandwich you always eat.” Judd shoved the food towards him, sitting on the opposite side of the table and watching him eat. 

It wasn’t until Grace had fixed her and her husband both a glass of tea that Judd spoke again, softer than he usually spoke to his teammates. “So did your brothers come to town?”

He didn’t need to answer, the hunch of his shoulders and the way he gripped his drink tighter in his hand was answer enough. “They came over for dinner earlier and found my study books. Alejandro and Santiago said some things and I left. Olivia texted me while I was in the bathroom and let me know they left.” He picked at his food for a second, sniffling. 

“They said I was too stupid to be a firefighter and it wouldn’t be long before I got myself killed or worse, killed someone else.”Judd was up and out of his seat before Mateo fully started crying, bringing the smaller man into a hug. Grace knew from stories Judd told her that Mateos family was far from supportive, but she didn’t fully realize how horrible they treated him and her heart broke for him. 

“Just say the word and I’ll go kick the shit out of them. Well have Gracie here bail me out.” Mateo let out a wet laugh, wiping his eyes. 

“For real though kid, you are a an amazing firemen and I trust you with my life.” The blinding smile Mateo gave her husband warmed Grace’s heart. She knew Judd may be the baby in his own family but he looked out for this team like a big brother would. 

“Thank you Judd, it means a lot.” 

“You’re welcome Probie, now come on. You’re staying the night so I got someone to complain to about all Gracie’s cooking shows.” The two men giggled like children, racing to the living room while Grace put the plates in the sink. 

Who was Judd tryna kid? He liked those cooking shows more than she did.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Nancy showed up next, shortly after Tim’s funeral. It was half past midnight, and she should have known someone was going to knock on the door because Judd was up going at the punching bag like crazy. 

Opening the door, she saw how tired Nancy looked, like she hadn’t slept since Tim died.she looked angry. “Hey girl, come on in. Judd’s in the garage whacking on that punching bag.” The woman just nodded, following Grace. Judd looked only vaguely surprised when he saw her, but stopped and went to the shelf, pulling out a pair of boxing gloves. 

“You wanna hit something?” 

“Been wanting to for a while now.” Judd nodded, handing her the gloves and watching as she put them on. She hit that bag almost as hard as Judd did and didn’t let up. 

He held the bag for her with all he had, letting her scream with every punch and pretending not to hear it. 

Grace could hear her saying something softly to Judd, but couldn’t make it out at first. “-I’m just so angry at Michelle, and Tim and everyone! Everyone is gone and I’m all alone again.” 

“I’m alone!” Her breath got quicker as her hits got weaker, panic welling up. 

“Fuck Michelle for leaving! Fuck Tim for dying on me!” Judd reached around to grab her as she crumbled, sobbing on their floor. 

“It’s ok honey, it’s ok. You’re not alone, you’re not alone.” Right after Owen came in with the new team, Grace remembered Judd telling her how comforting it was, seeing a few familiar faces in what felt like strangers in his home. He wasn’t close to many of the paramedics as he was Michelle, Tim, and Nancy so he must be understanding how she was feeling, at least a little.

He waited until the girl had cried herself out, helping her to her feet. She looked half dead standing even as Judd slung an arm around her shoulder and practically dragged her from the garage. “You mind getting the door babe?” She did as asked, helping Judd get Nancy into the guest room. 

Grace took her shoes off, laying a fresh pair of clothes that might fit on the night stand and shutting the door, finding Judd watching her in the hall. 

He looked unsure of what she didn’t know, but Grace leaned up and kissed him, caressing his face. “I love you Judd Ryder.” 

“I love you too baby.”

-.-.-.-.-.-

Marjan didn’t come knocking on their door sad or angry, she wasn’t like that. Judd was more apt for keeping Marjan out of Jail. 

They were at a bar, somewhere in Houston when a guy comments on the Hijab. “I didn’t think they allowed terrorists in this bar.” Instantly, both Marjan and Judd stiffened, turning to look at the racist trump lookalike. The group douchebag is with laugh like it’s funny when another guy, resembling Jeff fox-worthy if he was on drugs, spoke up. His eyes traveled up and down Marjans body in a way that made Grace want to both cover up and hit him in the head with a bottle. “I don’t know guys, I think seeing what’s underneath all that might be worth getting blown up.” 

She should have seen it coming, really she should have. Marjan is a lot of things, but weak is not one of them, and neither the kind of person to let someone else fight her battles, so instead of just letting Judd handle it she punched trump/ish in the face. Judd only stepped in when the Jeff lookalike tried to yank the hijab off. 

It wasn’t until Judd saw security headed their way that he jumped up, yanking Marjan back by the arm and half running to the exit. Grace would have shook their head at them had she not been the one in front. 

Sliding into the drivers seat, Grace started the truck with Marjan and Judd slid in beside her, giggling. 

“Oh you two think this is funny? We could have gotten arrested!” She was trying to be the responsible one, she really was until Judd spoke up.

“I know, but that one guy tried to pull off the hijab babe, ain’t nobody putting hands on my little sister.” They both pretended not to see Marjan preen at that, leaning her head on Judd’s shoulder for a moment. “Thanks bro.” 

“Anytime.”

-.-.-.-.-.-

Paul Strickland was a difficult man to figure out. He always seemed so put together, so collected. It didn’t even occur to her that he might be the next one to end up at her house until she got home one day to the house smelling like cookies. 

She tiptoed to the kitchen in case Judd was having another therapy session when she spotted Paul in her kitchen baking. Her countertops were literally covered in cookies, brownies, there was even a frosted cake sitting beside the fridge. 

Judd was just watching, rinsing and washing dishes as Paul handed them to him. “I just don’t get it! She knew I was trans for months! It didn’t bother her when she was jumping her ass in my bed but as soon as it comes to meeting parents she suddenly thinks it won’t work out!” Paul was kneading dough aggressively as he ranted, barley even looking at Judd, who was turned sideways as he washed a plate. 

“I know man, maybe her parents are assholes and she was trying to save you. Or she’s just an asshole.” Paul didn’t look up from the dough he dumped into a bowl, putting a cloth over it. 

“I’m gonna go with the second one. I just- it feels like she was ashamed of dating a Trans man, like it was only ok to love me in private. I just felt dirty.” Judd nodded, clearly looking for something to say, wanting to make it better. 

“Well if you’re single, Jenny from dispatch still has her eye on you. She keeps telling me how much she wants to show you a good time.” Paul jumped, clearly not paying attention enough to know that Grace was there, which was saying something. 

“I don’t want to use her as a rebound. Jenny has always been a good friend. I’m not quite over Kim yet.” He looked sad, cleaning the counter, throwing things in Judd’s dish water. 

“She’s waited a year for you, I’m sure a few more weeks would be fine.” Grace commented, failing to mention Jenny was on FaceTime when she walked in. Jenny’s heart eyes told her that yeah, she was willing to wait. 

-.-.-.-.-

Tk was definitely the most frequent visitor to their house, usually when Grace was working, so she didn’t see a lot of big brother Judd with him, just stories. The one time she did though, she really wished she didn’t. 

She woke up to Judd’s annoying ringtone, reaching over to shut it off while the man slept on. Turns out it was TK, and before she could answer it and wake Judd up it quit ringing. A text message came through moments later, breaking her heart.

From Baby Bro:

I need help. I fucked up. 

Those six words had panic flowing through the woman’s body as she shook Judd roughly, shining the phone in his face as he came to. 

“Judd we gotta go find TK.” He read the message slowly, his brain taking a moment to process before he was hitting redial, holding the phone to his ear as he almost rolled out of bed. Grace jumped up too, turning on the light and grabbing her shoes.

Judd was already throwing on jeans, cursing when TK didn’t answer and calling again, throwing on his shoes. 

“Call Owen and Gwen. If they don’t answer call Marjan and Paul, tell them to go beat on Owens door. I’m calling Carlos.” She nodded, following instructions as they ran down the hall towards his truck. Owen and Gwens phones both went to voicemail and Grace cursed them in her head, calling Paul. 

“What’s wrong?” Paul was smart enough to know that Grace wouldn’t be calling at three am for no reason. 

“Tk is in trouble, he sent a really weird text and I think he’s relapsed. I know Marjan is staying over there, so go to Owens. Beat on the door if you gotta.” She could hear shuffling, Paul getting dressed, and then him waking up Marjan. 

“Call me when you get there.” She ordered, hanging up and turning to Judd. He was clenching the wheel tightly in one hand, his phone tighter in the other. 

“I didn’t know that, yeah, we’ll let you know when we know something.” He hung up, throwing the phone in the seat.

“Carlos has been at his parents house for a week for a family wedding. He’s leaving now, but it’ll be a while. They don’t know about TK so he didn’t go. Carlos also said TK’s been upset at Owen and Gwen because of the baby. Apparently when they told Carlos and Tk about it they kept going on about how excited they were to be parents.” He sounded furious and Grace put a hand on his arm to calm him. 

“I’m sure they didn’t mean that.” 

“I know that,” he scoffed, sparing her a glance, “and you know that but a squished bug has more self confidence than Tk and he’s already questioning himself with everything going on with Carlos.” She could almost feel how badly he was panicking as they pulled into Owens driveway, just behind Paul and Marjan. 

“He’s still not answering the phone, I’ve called him and Gwen repeatedly since we left.” Marjan said, looking every bit as mad as Judd did. He just nodded at her, headed up to the porch and pounding on the door repeatedly. 

They were cold, everyone in their PJs still and kind of irritated that they weren’t answering the door. Paul pointed when a light came on in the hallway, but Judd kept hitting the door untilit swung open, revealing two grumpy Strands. 

“What the hell is it?” 

“Answer your damn phone TK is missing.” Judd growled. Gwen looked at Owen worriedly, disappearing for a moment before coming back with both their phones in hand. 

“They were on silent I didn’t-oh god. He called me seventeen times.” Owen mumbled, opening text messages and letting Judd read them. From beside him Gwen gasped, handing the phone to Owen.

“He called her ten times and left a message saying he fucked up.” Judd sighed, his worry showing through. 

“Any idea where he might go?” Gwen shook her head, sitting on the couch. Owen looked lost too, which confused Grace because they’ve lived together the entire time they’ve been in Texas. How do you live with someone and not know where they go every day?

“Ok you two sit here, see if he comes back. Marjan, Paul, I want you looking at Bars. If you see his car, or anybody says he was there call me. Grace and I are gonna drive around some spots he’s told me are places to score and see if we can find him. Carlos is about two hours out but he’ll help when he gets here. Call Mateo if he’s got a car and have him check the Diners he drags TK to.” Owen went to argue, clearly wanting to be out looking himself but Gwen pulled him back, whispering in his ear. 

Grace lost just a little bit of respect for the man when he sighed. “Just find him you guys.” Nobody answered him, headed to their own cars. Marjan was on the phone with Mateo as she slid into the passenger seat of Paul’s car and just like that they were on the road again. 

Sitting in the passenger seat of Judd’s truck, looking at the window at the poorest parts of town, hunting for TK Grace wondered for a moment why he did it. Why he cared so much about these people, and why he was riding around at five am calling TKs phone. 

Carlos called, snapping her from her thoughts. “Put it on speaker.” 

“Hey Carlos, what’s up?” 

“So TKs headed to my house. I got his location off find my iPhone.” 

Judd nodded, looking hopeful. “We’re about five minutes away. You wanna call everyone else?” 

“Yeah, the key is under the mat. I’m about twenty so I’ll call the troops off.” The joke fell flat, neither really in the laughing mood. Carlos said a quick goodbye and hung up the phone. 

Judd parked the truck hastily, mostly in the grass and ran towards the front door. He unlocked the door, rushing to the lump on the couch. He reeked of liquor. 

She looked around, noticing how messy the house was. It looked like TK was in a depression slump and tonight he just snapped. 

Tk lay bloody and beaten, whining when Judd touched him. “I didn’t take them, I didn’t take them.” Before either of them could ask what the hell he was talking about, Grace pointed at the small baggie of pills lying on the table. 

“I didn’t want them, but she gave them to me after the drink and I didn’t want either of them. She drugged me Judd, she did it.” Her husband sat on the floor, petting TKs hair and telling him it was ok until Carlos arrived, tripping in the door. 

“What happened?” 

“I don’t fully know, and he’s not in the place to tell us, so help me get him to the bathroom to clean up.” He didn’t need Carlos’ help, he could carry TK just fine. Carlos needed to be doing something. 

They disappeared into the bathroom while Grace stayed in the living room, picking things up. She was just about to start scrubbing the blood off the couch and floor when the rest of the search party arrived sans Gwen. 

Mateo and Marjan dropped next to Grace, grabbing sponges and getting to work. “They’re in the bathroom cleaning up TK. I was just about to start in the kitchen.” Nobody said a word, Owen and Paul just pulling up their sleeves and cleaning the mess. 

She doesn’t know how long they were in there, but when Judd finally walked out, they were all sitting on the couch, waiting. 

“Carlos says you’re welcome to the guest room or the pull out couch but Tk needs some rest.” 

“What happened?” Paul asked, crossing his arms anxiously. 

“He says he went to a bar because he needed the noise when the waitress kept trying to offer him whiskey. He didn’t realize that when he said no she just put something in his drink. Next thing he knows he’s stumbling up to a dealer, getting pills and then fighting them. He managed to both get away and get a liquor bottle smashed on him at the same time. He said when he realized what he done he came here and waited for someone to answer the phone.” Judd was literally shaking with anger, not that the rest of the room was much better. 

“What bar was it?” Marjan growled, standing and pacing. 

“He can’t remember.” Owen got up and tried to push past Judd upstairs, most likely to try and get the answer out of his son. 

Judd stopped him with a hand to the chest. “They’re asleep. Talk to him in the morning.” His voice left no room for complaints and Owen sighed. “Tell him ill be back in the morning.” Owen left while Mateo and Paul were arguing over who got the bed and the pullout. Apparently nobody wanted to sleep with Marjan, she snores. 

Judd walked up to her nervously, hand wringing the back of his neck. 

“Grace,-“ “You better tell Paul and Mateo they’re both sleeping on the bed with Marjan cause I’m only sharing this pullout with you.” He laughed, kissing her on the lips once and leaning down to whisper in her ear. 

“Make a run for the guest bedroom and they’re all stuck out here.” She giggled, moving quickly. 

The other threes complaints carried through the living room and she couldn’t help but throw her head back laughing. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Judd liked playing the part of big brother, being the strong one and he usually was. On any other day he was the hero to everyone else, but today, today he struggled getting out of bed. 

It broke her heart, watching this amazing man fall to pieces. Quiet sobs wracked his body as he curled on the bed, the memories of the worst day of his life almost consuming him. She remembers the call, hearing him try and warn the people he considered family, and her begging him not to run in there. She remembers hearing him scream, remembers it ripping itself from his throat and paralyze her through the phone. 

She’s tried everything she knows to help him, but in the end he cried himself to sleep. She’d just came into the living room, memories haunting her as well when the doorbell rang. 

Tk, Carlos, Marjan, Paul, Nancy, and Mateo stood on her porch at six pm in their PJs with pillows and duffel bags in hand. 

“Judd’s not in-“ She was cut off by TKs gentle hand on her arm. “We know what today is, and he’s always there for us so we’re returning the favor.” Everyone nodded in earnestly, and she teared up a bit, knowing these people had Judd’s back when he was in the field. 

“Come on in, he’s in our room.” One by one they crept into the room, making themselves comfortable on the floor while Carlos helped Grace get blankets. 

Judd woke up for a moment during the distribution, confusion lighting up his face as he looked around.

“What are y’all doing here?” 

Mateo shrugged, leaning against the wall. “We know what today is, you didn’t think we were just gonna leave you alone did you?” Judd let out a weak chuckle, shaking his head. 

“I’m fine.” 

“You’re lying,” TK rolled over to face the side of the bed he and Carlos were laying on, looking up at Judd as he leaned down. “But that’s ok.” 

Grace looked at her husband, at how secretly happy he was to have a group of people in his floor. They weren’t trying to embarrass him, they just shut off the light and lay down. Grace shuffled beside Judd, fighting the urge to giggle. She heard a bit of moving from the floor and Judd spoke up before she could. 

“If you two try to pull anything in my house I’m skinning you both.” Carlos groaned, the rest of the pile laughing from their spots. 

“Don’t worry Cowboy, Grace is the one I’d put on a show for.” Tk sounded like he was trying not to laugh. 

She couldn’t help but laugh at Judd’s offended look. “I’m cute enough to put on a show for!” 

It was like a third grade sleepover, the laughing and the whispering. “I should accidentally kick you in the head when I get up to pee.” 

TKs voice floated up from the floor once again. “If you wanted to touch me Judd all you had to do was ask.” Grace was laughing so hard she couldn’t breathe, and almost managed to calm herself down when Carlos spoke up.

“Judd, don’t make me tase you.” Just like that they were started again.

She didn’t get much sleep that night they stayed up laughing for too long, but the smile on Judd’s face the next morning as he and Paul were throwing blueberries at Mateo and TK was worth it. 


End file.
